Forbes columnist Steven Salzberg and author-investigator Joe Nickell will each be awarded the 2012 Robert P. Balles Prize in Critical Thinking, to be presented by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry at the CFI Summit in October.

Martin Gardner’s Contributions to the World of Books

Martin shared with us a devotion to books—the idea that books should be cherished as virtually “sacred” because of their enduring contributions to culture.

Martin Gardner
was a unique man of letters, a science writer who not only wrote columns
for Scientific
American and the Skeptical
Inquirer but who was a prolific author of over seventy books! Perhaps
his reputation in the long run will depend on the provocative books
that he authored over the years. Although we may be at “the beginning
of the end of the Age of Books” (alas!), Gardner stands out as a
heroic author whose books on pseudoscience we hope will be read in the
future with relish and delight—as reminders of how easy it is to be
deceived.

I
know Martin Gardner best as a book author; Prometheus Books published
at least twenty-five of his books. Several of these were new editions
of books previously published. I founded Prometheus in 1969, and it
has devoted more attention than any other press to publishing books
on scientific skepticism and the paranormal. Martin was tickled pink
that Prometheus Books was willing to take on the paranormalists.

I
first got to know Martin when I founded the modern skeptics movement
(in the guise of CSICOP, later CSI), so to speak, and invited him to
the inaugural meeting at the State University of New York at Buffalo
on April 30, 1976. I was delighted when he accepted and even more so
when he appeared. His publishing romance with Prometheus began a few
years later. He shared with us a devotion to books—the idea that books
should be cherished as virtually “sacred” because of their enduring
contributions to culture.

Martin’s
first book with Prometheus was Science:
Good, Bad and Bogus
(1981). The New
York Times described
it as “a valuable book . . . an ally of common sense.” It was a
nominee for a national book award. So his career with Prometheus got
off to a rousing start. We would hear from him almost biweekly thereafter,
as he kept proposing books and then saw them through the editorial process
until publication. Martin had a keen intelligence and a sharp wit, which
he used with consummate skill.

We
were intrigued with the titles that he came up with, such as On the Wild Side (hardcover 1992, paperback 2004),
which dealt with the big bang, ESP, the Beast 666, levitation, rainmaking,
trance-channeling, séances, ghosts, and more. Another one was How Not to Test a Psychic (1989). (Incidentally, the complete
list of Martin Gardner’s books still available from Prometheus Books
may be read online.)

It
was amazing to me how Martin was able to delve into what many considered
nutty claims. He took them seriously and made them seem even nuttier,
such as in his book Urantia:
The Great Cult Mystery
(1995, revised 2008). Martin told me that he maintained extensive clippings
on a wide range of topics and so could bring empirical facts to bear
to expose the beliefs held.

An
important book by Martin was Great
Essays in Science (1994),
which included thirty-one of some of the best writings in science
over the past 100 years. These included thought-provoking contributions
that represented the peak of accomplishments in science.

Prometheus
also published a novel by Martin called The
Flight of Peter Fromm
(1994), which seemed to echo his own religious beliefs. I was curious
that Martin himself clung to his religious faith in God, somewhat apologetically.
“I can’t prove it,” he seemed to say, “but I am attached to
it.” I found this statement rather charming, if only because it contradicts
doctrinaire atheists who insist that any true skeptic must be an atheist.

Gardner’s
last new book with Prometheus was The
Jinn from Hyperspace and Other Scribblings—Both Serious and Whimsical (2007). New
Scientist reviewed
the book by stating that it was “clear, closely argued, and entertaining
. . . a fascinating insight into the breadth of interest and fecundity
of the man now in his nineties.”

To
which I say amen about all of Gardner’s books, an inexhaustible treasury
of insight and wisdom. Martin Gardner played a key role in his time
as a keen advocate of science, a luminary in the constellation of skeptics.
He will be sorely missed.

Paul Kurtz

Professor Paul Kurtz is the founder of the Center for Inquiry, CFI's former chairman, the former Editor-in-Chief of Free Inquiry magazine, and professor emeritus of philosophy at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Kurtz has spent much of his life on the critical examination of religion, but believes that naturalists need to emphasize and build positive alternatives to religion. For Kurtz, it is not enough to reject God, but to affirm the positive implications of the secular humanist perspective.

Content copyright CSI or the respective copyright holders. Do not redistribute without obtaining permission. Thanks to the ESO for the image of the Helix Nebula, also NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team for the image of NGC 3808B (ARP 87).